SLR Magic Anamorphot CINE PL 35mm T2.4

• Anamorphic Lens by SLR Magic
• Single Focus : Variable Diopter
• Mount: PL

Let’s talk about anamorphic LENSES from SLR Magic, or the SLR Magic Anamorphot CINEs. We’ll be looking at the PL option, which is the pricier yet less squeezier of the two. These sets have been out since 2017 and I had a lot of folks asking about reviews over the years. Time to cross them off the list.

The set includes 35, 50 and 70mm lenses, which is a basic all-rounder combination of focal lengths, allowing you to easily do close ups and wide shots without too much hassle.

The images have a chromatic-aberration cranked up vibe to me, somewhat reminding me of video, like VHS video, and while their texture doesn’t always scream anamorphic, they definitely don’t look plain.

The lenses come in PL mount and they’re compatible with any PL-EF adapter, which means they’re fit for a lot of cameras out there. The 1.33 squeeze also helps usability with 16:9 sensors and avoiding extra monitoring gear since you can still see your framing fine in spite of the squeeze.

Honoring the CINE in the name, as a set, SLR Magic got a lot of things right. The lenses all have focus and iris gears, plus the placement of those gears is the same on all three lenses, as well as they share the same size, making it easier to do lens swaps on set without adjusting motors or follow focus back and forth.

The fronts all have 82mm threads which is great for screw-in filters. Minimum focus is a tough one though, at 3ft6, or 1.1m, across the set. While this is okay for the 70mm, it’s not a great thing on the 35mm, where you constantly want to get closer to people.

Focusing causes the front element to both rotate and telescope, which means that you can get some crazy polarizing effects if using a variable ND on big focus racks. On the upside, all the focus marks are the same for the three lenses, meaning no need to update your focus wheel after switching lenses.

They’re short and stubby lenses, which I like, and not thaaat heavy, at 1.1kg or 2.4 pounds each.

Now on the inconsistencies, the 35mm has a max aperture of T2.4, the 50mm goes to T2.8 and the 70mm is T4. Not the fastest lenses out there, and you’ll see why this makes shooting challenging during the sharpness test.

All the lenses also feature an oval insert to enhance the anamorphic bokeh when shooting wide open. I wonder where they got that idea…

Looking at sharpness, these are not the sharpest lenses wide open. Not by a mile. You usually have to stop them down one or two stops to get to their sweet spot. We also see plenty of chromatic aberration on high contrast edges. Blue and purple fringing galore. I think this contributes to the VHS look I was talking about and the overall texture of the lenses, but not the nicest touch to the picture if you’re trying to get something clean.

The flares are standard SLR Magic nuclear blue, with big blue blobs. No surprise here, as these lenses are essentially monoblocks of prime lenses locked at infinity, SLR Magic’s Anamorphot 1.33x-50 and their Rangefinder variable diopter. No changes in the glass or coatings will lead to the same flares as their adapters.

For coverage, a little more inconsistency. The 35mm only covers S35, while the 50 and 70mm can cover full frame. I guess that’s a bonus. Still, I feel these would get a lot more action if the whole set could cover FF. Being adaptable to EF, they could be speedboosted and get one more stop of light when shooting for S35. Just some thoughts.

For bokeh, the oval insert definitely helps when shooting wide open. We can see the ovals get shorter as we stop down, as the blades cut into that shape. Bokeh has a smeared texture to it and many times I feel I can see chromatic aberration on it.

Distortion is super interesting on the 35mm, where you can see warping on the sides of the frame . The 50mm is pretty dialed back already in that aspect, and the 70mm is super controlled.

Last, rack focusing introduces some breathing as the Rangefinder works as a wide-angle adapter at the front of the lenses. Just standard procedure here. It’s nice that you gain a bit of field of view when focusing closer.

So what do I make of this set? My first thought is it’s still pricier than it should be. Especially with competing options from Vazen and Sirui. Being compatible with EF gives this an edge, but the performance doesn’t come close to what we’re seeing from more recent offerings. The drop from the original 18k price also reflects that slr magic is aware of competition in this niche.

I dig the weird look and smeared out of focus areas. There is a blue fringe overall which I dialed down in post but here you can see a bit of back and forth on it. That's what I believe to be the biggest contributor to the video/VHS look.

The 35mm stands out as the most fun lens out of the three, with distortion being a key element to its look.